Booklist
POET, WRITER, BROADCASTER, JOURNALIST
A brief Betjeman bibliography
A bibliography for inclusion in a website must be, by necessity, brief and incomplete. It is intended to point the general reader in the direction of the main books which contain John Betjeman’s verse, prose, and letters, together with a number of biographical and critical studies. For a more complete list, see A Bibliographical Companion to Betjeman (The Betjeman Society 1997) and A Betjeman Checklist (The Betjeman Society 2006), both compiled by Peter Gammond and John Heald, or John Betjeman: A Bibliography by William S Peterson (Oxford University Press 2006).
John Betjeman’s Verse
Mount Zion (The James Press 1931) Facsimile reprint 1975
Continual Dew (John Murray 1937) Facsimile reprint 1977
Old Lights for New Chancels (John Murray 1940)
New Bats in Old Belfries (John Murray 1945)
Selected Poems (John Murray 1948)
A Few Late Chrysanthemums (John Murray 1954)
Poems in the Porch (SPCK 1954)
Collected Poems (John Murray 1958) – many reprints and updated editions since first publication. The centenary edition in 2006 included Summoned by Bells.
Summoned by Bells (John Murray 1960)
High and Low (John Murray 1966)
A Nip in the Air (John Murray 1974)
The Best of Betjeman (John Murray in association with Penguin Books 1975)
Church Poems (John Murray 1981)
Uncollected Poems (John Murray 1982)
Poems in the Porch (Continuum 2008) Edited by Kevin J Gardner
Harvest Bells (Continuum 2019) Edited by Kevin J Gardner
John Betjeman’s Prose, Letters and Radio Talks
Ghastly Good Taste (Chapman and Hall 1933) Revised and updated edition 1970 (Anthony Blond)
Cornwall – A Shell Guide (Architectural Press 1934) Revised and updated in 1964 (Faber)
Devon – A Shell Guide (Architectural Press 1936)
An Oxford University Chest (John Miles 1938) Reprinted 1979 (Oxford University Press)
Antiquarian Prejudice (Hogarth Press 1939)
Vintage London (Collins 1942)
English Cities and Small Towns (Collins 1943)
John Piper (Penguin Modern Painters 1944)
First and Last Loves (John Murray 1952)
Collins Guide to English Parish Churches (Collins 1958)
London’s Historic Railway Stations (John Murray 1972)
A Pictorial History of English Architecture (John Murray 1972)
Archie and the Strict Baptists (John Murray 1977)
Letters Volume 1: 1926 – 1951, edited by Candida Lycett Green (Methuen 1994)
Letters Volume 2: 1951 – 1984, edited by Candida Lycett Green (Methuen 1995)
Coming Home, an anthology of prose, edited by Candida Lycett Green (Methuen 1997)
Trains and Buttered Toast, edited by Stephen Games (John Murray 2006)
John Betjeman on Trains, edited by Jonathan Glancey (Methuen 2006)
Tennis Whites and Teacakes, edited by Stephen Games (John Murray 2007)
Sweet Songs of Zion, edited by Stephen Games (Hodder and Stoughton 2007)
John Betjeman on Churches, edited by Jonathan Glancey (Methuen 2007)
Betjeman’s England, edited by Stephen Games (John Murray 2009)
Betjeman on Faith, edited by Kevin J Gardner (SPCK 2011)
Lovely Bits Of Old England: Selected writings from the Daily Telegraph, edited by Gavin Fuller (Aurum 2012)
Biography and Critical Studies
John Betjeman – A Study, Derek Stanford (Neville Spearman 1961)
John Betjeman – His Life and Work, Patrick Taylor-Martin (Allen Lane 1983)
John Betjeman – A Life in Pictures, Bevis Hillier (John Murray 1984)
Young Betjeman, Bevis Hillier (John Murray 1988)
John Betjeman, Dennis Brown, in the series Writers and their Work (Northcote House 1999)
John Betjeman – New Fame, New Love, Bevis Hillier (John Murray 2002)
Betjeman – The Bonus of Laughter, Bevis Hillier (John Murray 2004)
Betjeman – The Biography, Bevis Hillier (John Murray 2006)
Betjeman, A N Wilson (Hutchinson 2006)
The Little Book of Betjeman, Peter Gammond (Guidon 2006)
John Betjeman, Reading the Victorians, Greg Morse (Sussex Academic Press, 2008)
John Betjeman and Cornwall: “The Celebrated Cornish Nationalist”, Philip Payton (Exeter University Press 2010)
Betjeman and the Anglican Imagination, Kevin J Gardner (SPCK 2010)
John Betjeman Making Light, Tim Hancock (Greenwich Exchange 2021)
A Passion for Places: England Through the Eyes of John Betjeman, David Meara (Amberley Publishing 2021)
Betjeman In Ireland, Dominic Moseley (Somerville Press 2023)